Cuckooshrikes, Minivets

Information

Other Names

Records

It is found in southeast India and Sri Lanka. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the Scarlet Minivet.

It is a large minivet with isolated orange (male) or yellow (female) patch on tertials. Male has deep orange underparts. Female has colder grey-brown underparts than Scarlet Minivet, with less yellow on forehead and darker grey ear coverts.

The Scarlet Minivet is a small passerine bird. This minivet is found in tropical southern Asia from the Indian subcontinent east to southern China, Indonesia, and the Philippines. They are common resident breeding birds in forests and other well-wooded habitats including gardens, especially in hilly country. While the male is scarlet to orange with black upper parts, the females are usually yellow with greyish olive upper parts.

The Scarlet Minivet is 25 cm long with a strong dark beak and long wings.The male has black upperparts and head, and scarlet underparts, tail edges, rump and wing patches. The shape and color of the wing patches and the shade or orange in the male varies across populations. The female is grey above, with yellow underparts, tail edges, rump and wing patches.

The Small Minivet is a small passerine bird. This minivet is found in tropical southern Asia from the Indian subcontinent east to Indonesia.

The Small Minivet is a widespread and common resident breeding bird in thorn jungle and scrub. The nest is a cup-like structure into which two to four spotted eggs are laid and incubated by the female.

The Small Minivet is 20 cm long with a strong dark beak and long wings. The male differs from most other common minivets by having grey, not glossy black, upperparts and head, and orange underparts, fading to yellow on the belly, orange tail edges, rump and wing patches.

The female is grey above, with yellow underparts, tail edges, rump and wing patches. This minivet catches insects in trees by flycatching or while perched. The Small Minivet will form small flocks.

The white-bellied minivet is a species of minivet found in India, mostly in dry deciduous forest. The species is characterized by stable population trend and extent of occurrence of more than 20 thousand sq km.